Makara Sankranti

Greetings from Kashi,

It has been more than a month since I have been living at the Ganga Mahal (Mahal=palace) which is still owned by the Maharaja of Benares. Being the Lord of the manor of such stately quarters is an honour for me (considering that I was a gypsy king this halloween!), but it is no
coincidence that it houses World Literacy of Canada's India office, a space that exudes love and light. It is from this homebase that I have extended my reach and traversed the boundaries of my time in this space called Varanasi.

Last week was Makara Sankranti. January 14th predicts the movement of the sun northwards into Makara (zodiac sign:Capricorn). It is an auspicious time to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges on this day and thousands of people arrive at sacred sites for these cleansing and purification rituals that have been performed for thousands of years. Hoards of people
gather prior to this auspicious day, lining the ghats (steps leading down to the river) and sleep on temporary mats, gunny sacks or plane cold stones, to collect handfuls of rice and lentils that the pilgrim bathers distribute after their holy ablutions. The rice and lentils are made into
a 'kichari' (kitch-ed-i) which is the speciality of the day. This year Makara Sankranti coincided with the full moon (after 57 years), which made it all the more cosmically profound. On this great day under the auspices of a bright and hot sun, I made my way through teeming crowds
of erstwhile bathers with an intense fervor to leave behind their transitory woes in the self purifying veins of our earth that empty themselves in the vast oceans of our blue planet. Ofcourse, I had to participate in such undertakings and I took a boat out to the middle of
the river (the cleanest part) made the boatman strategically place the boat that I might face the sun, and dived right into the icy waters of Ganga who still retains traces of her glacial origins in the Himalayas.(River Ganga is considered a goddess, if you were wondering).

Well that's it for this episode of a beautiful weekend, that I will continue to share in subsequent letters. Also, Varanasi is also called Kashi, and Benares...names that have been used for this ancient city through the ages.

Love and light,

Prashant

Enter Elephant

Progress of boat building on New Year's Day

And today I shall quote from Count Hermann Keyserling who came to Benares shortly before World War 1. He says: "Benares is holy. Europe, having grown superficial, hardly understands
such truths anymore....I feel nearer here than I have ever done to the heart of thw world; here I feel everyday as if soon, perhaps even today, I would receive the grace of supreme revelation....The atmosphere of devotion which hangs above the river is improbable in its strength: stronger than in any church that I have ever visited. Every would-be Christian priest would do well to sacrifice a year of his theological studies in order to spend this time on the Ganges: here he would discover what piety means."

And a couple of sketches from the beginning of this year.

Love and light,

Prash

New Year's Missive

Greetings from Kashi,
31 Dec 2005

Perhaps, I shall begin to narrate the series of events that happened this morning. I showered and went down to the ghats ( steps running down to the river )for my morning's meditation. I usually perch myself on one of the octogonal bases on the banks of the Ganges, facing the sun rising over a misty river, wrapped in a shawl or blanket with my sketchbook next to me.
Whilst meditating, I felt a cold nose on the palm of my hand and opened my eyes to see a dog settling down peacefully by my side. When I was done, I wrapped my shawl, patted the dog and left. I headed to a fruit vendor, bought an orange and banana for my breakfast, picked up 7 samosas for Ashokji and his friends along the street. I had chai on Assi Ghat and proceeded to Ganga Mahal for our morning prayer....it was then that I realised that i did not have my Ganesh Sketchbox with me.

Over the last two weeks, I had filled my sketchbox to the brim with my paintings and ponderings. how my sketchbook journal so seamlessly left my presence is baffling, but it taught me a lesson in letting go. Perhaps it was the monkeys, a stealthy visitor, my penchant for leaving things behind, or Goddess Ganga herself, who needed my sketches, I do not know, but such an encounter on the cusp of the new year made me focus on the 'now', and let go of things in the past.

1 January 2006

I woke up this morning, oiled my hair, washed my clothes, had a bath and washed my hair with equal quantities of Shikakai, amla and Ritha powders, hich works beautifully as a shampoo, finished a new year card that the chai walla downstairs wanted and headed to the ghat to give it to him and to to proceed to my usual meditation spot. When I handed him the card, he pulled out a box and asked me if it was mine. It was my DECEMBER GANESH SKETCHBOX!!!....complete with my Rotring in it! Some one had found it....way down on one of the ghats along the river(that I hadn't visited at all yesterday morning) Such has been my magical day. Lost and Found! I wish all of you a blessed and magical New year....leaving unwanted past burdens behind and focussing on 'now'. For both the past and the future reside in the present moment.

I have since then, taken and boatride to the middle of the river, dived into Ganga, cooked my lunch, and spent a lazy afternoon soaking in the sun with a vista of the river. I have been invited to a classical music concert tonight and will head there shortly.

Much love and light from Kashi (The ancient name for Varanasi, which means
concentrated cosmic light)

Prashant

Who can comprehend the joy.

Life on the ghats

Collage

Dream of Prash as Krishna

Prash's Krishna visions begin to merge with thoughts of Prashant's joyous wanderings of the spirit. Is there a fundamental change at work?

Krishna vision

Sunday on the Ghats

I have a sense of a life both slowed down but with added meaning and depth to each event that passes.

More Varanasi Notes

And the river flows

Good Morning Sun, Good Morning Bird

A Bird in my room to greet me this morning.

Good Morning Sun.

Good Morning Bird.

Good Morning World.

Touching other lives along the journey

A creature of Light

I could visualize Prashant as a creature of Light, drifting through the consciousness of his time and place in a bubble of his own vision and art.

A different stance on life

With this series of drawings I really began to feel the different place and rythyms of thought that Prashant was feeling and expressing in his art.

December Notebook

With four on a page, these notebook pages were a bit small so I will try to post also separately with slight enlargements.

Washed up by good fortune on these shores

Playing with Photos

Thought I would put the painted window into the photo since I liked it better.

Window on the River

The window that caught my eye in the photos of Prashant's room finds it's way into his sketch book along with the red moon and details of ablutions. Why does it not surprise me that the window is more of a bright yellow than photographs convey? I think I like Prashant's window better.

The final remark on this journal page, "I am leading the life I want to lead" is very thought-provoking. How many of us can say that? What is stopping us?